2026 NEWS AND HEADLINES
Imagine Senegal's plans have been on hold since January 2026 during a sad time of family loss.
We are now back on track with a visit to Senegal set up for December 2026 through to late January 2027. This will also celebrate 17 years since Claire's first trip.
One of our aims is to connect Old Hutton Primary School near Kendal with the new Headteacher at Ataba Tabar Primary School in Ziguinchor in the next acamdemic year, 2026/2027.
Meanwhile we have plans for a creative arts twinning project between North West England and the Casamance , in Southern Senegal. Watch this space!
We have some new fundraising activities this year. Please see our Whats On page.
Thank you for your support with best wishes, Claire and Idrissa
2025 NEWS AND HEADLINES
September News bringing changes
Arnside Primary School has now decided to conclude their twinning project after 7 years with Amitie Ecole Elementaire in Ziguinchor, Casamance. Headteacher Nick Sharpe wrote to his counterpart Headteacher Mamadou N'Diaye to say thank you for all the years when the project was extremely positive for all his pupils and teachers. He said that everyone had benefitted a great deal from the friendship between the two schools.
This is, after all the aim at the heart of Imagine Senegal's work.
Beetham Primary School has decided to complete their twinning project with Ataba Tabar school, partly due to stretched resources, after a really successful friendship for 9 years. Please look through the news to see some of the positive steps made together.
Old Hutton Primary School under the headship of Nick Turley are now ready to develop their relatively new and second twinning project with Ataba Tabar Ecole Elememtaire under the headship of Mamadou Balde. Mamadou is in in his final year before retirement. In 2023 Charlotte Harrison, deputy head, visited their then new twins ... at the time this was a project shared with Beetham Primary School. Old Hutton have been part of twinning projects with Imagine Senegal since Septemeber 2012 and were the first school in the North West of England to twin.
Great timing Old Hutton !! This gives time for Mamadou to handover to the next Headteacher and we will be ready for the planned visit by me, Claire, to Sénégal in Deember 2026.
To say I can't wait is an understatement ... I am more than ready to go!
Thank you for all your support as always,
Claire Griffel and Idrissa Sané
Spring and Summer Update
EXCITING LOCAL PROJECTS WITH A FUNDRAISING ELEMENT ARE GOING AHEAD.
PLEASE SEE OUR WHAT'S ON PAGE
FOLLOWING POLITICAL CHANGE IN SENEGAL AND STAFF CHANGES IN TWINNING SCHOOLS IN NORTH WEST ENGLAND AND IN SENEGAL OUR TWINNING PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ON HOLD.
THE NEXT TRIP TO SENEGAL IS PLANNED FOR DECEMBER 2026.
ALL CHANGE! 2023
2 NEW ENGLISH HEADTEACHERS FOR OUR ENGLISH TWINS
1 NEW SENEGALESE HEADTEACHER
A NEW SHARED TWINNING PROJECT
FIRST VISIT BY TEACHER FROM ENGLAND TO SENEGAL
AFTER A SUCCESSFUL 8 YEAR TWINNING PROJECT FOR OLD HUTTON PRIMARY SCHOOL, STAFF AND PUPILS HAVE DECIDED TO WORK TOGETHER WITH BEETHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL. TOGETHER THEY WILL SHARE A TWINNING PROJECT WITH ATABA TABAR PRIMARY SCHOOL IN ZIGUINCHOR, HOME OF OUR OTHER SCHOOL, TWINNED WITH ARNSIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL.
OLD HUTTON'S DEPUTY HEADTEACHER VISITED ATABA TABAR PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MARCH 2023. IDRISSA COORDINATED THE VISIT IN SENEGAL.
(Lto R) Headteacher Mamadou Balde, Idrissa, Deputy Charlotte Harrison 28 March 2023 at AtabaTabar Primary School
[ top photo shows Charlotte outside the classroom renovated by Beetham Primary School ]
NEW ROOF COMPLETED
ATABA TABAR ROOF REPLACEMENT COMPLETED WITH THE HELP OF BEETHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL AND IMAGINE SENEGAL. OUR SENEGALESE TWINS MAKE A DEDICATION SIGN OF THANKS.
SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Preview of art by Beetham primary school artist, Lily, for their fundraising Exhibition opening at Heron Theatre on 9 July 2019.
Welcome to the newsletter!
1. Sad news first ... due to unfortunate circumstances and insufficient personal funds I have had to cancel two trips to Senegal already this year.
2. Good news next ... I have a booked a flight to visit Senegal for 4 weeks during November 2019. Also, teachers and pupils on both continents have worked to stay in touch by email and WhatsApp where possible. Idrissa Sané in Senegal has also kept up good communication with the twins. So, in a way less visits from me has moved the direct communication between twins forward.
3. English pupils at the second twinning school Beetham are almost ready to launch their first fundraising exhibition of their framed original art work. The exhibition will run for nearby Heron Theatre and local artists Fiona Clucas and Tracy Levine will visit the exhibition and talk to the young artists. I was again impressed by the quality and originality of the pupils' work during our workshops together. It is amazing timing that Beetham pupils themselves have decided to start fundraising for their twins. We just had awful news in late June of a violent storm in Senegal at the start of the rainy season. The roof that we were planning to help to repair was damaged even further. Fingers crossed that no more damage is done and we can raise enough to help our twins. Before the damage, the estimate for fully repairing the roof was £1,500. Beetham is a small primary school and everyone is working hard to raise as much as they can. Meanwhile Imagine Senegal will work to secure additional funding.
4. Arnside primary school staff and pupils, the most recent school to join Imagine Senegal’s twinning projects, have decided to plan a fundraising project of their own in the new academic year.
5. Fundraising is not a compulsory part of Imagine Senegal’s primary school twinning work. But the English pupils are always moved by video footage and photos. They see how fortunate they are in their own schools. They see their twins hard work under really challenging conditions for studying.The English pupils understand that the Senegalese children will become workers in all professions just as they will AND in spite of extremely difficult conditions. The other side of the twinning is sharing the richness of Senegalese history, traditions and the strength of tribal and family life. There is a feeling of being connected with other very different yet very similar children a long way away. It is absolutely priceless to see the English pupils’ delight when they watch video footage or see photos of their twins reading their letters and postcards and looking at the drawings they have done there are cries of excitement:
“Look! Look! That’s mine!”
"I wrote that!”
“That’s my drawing! I did that!”
Best wishes as always and thank you for your support,
Claire Griffel
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1. I had my first fundraising open studio weekend at my apartment in September as a new member of Green Door Artists here in South Lakes. I had no idea what to expect as people had not only to find me but negotiate a secure entry system, corridors and the slowest lift on the planet. In spite of these obstacles I had 55 visitors and raised a surprising £460 through sales of my artwork and children's book "Quet-zal's tail."
2. The organisers of Sedbergh Book festival invited me to run two creative writing workshops in October with one for adults and one for children. These fundraising sessions were held in Sedbergh school's library which is very dramatic architecturally...a great setting!
3. Now that I have launched myself as a children's storyteller which is another fundraising activity I have had two bookings for children's birthday parties. I took it as a mark of success when one birthday child was asked what she liked best about her party and she replied the storyteller and the cake!
4. I have just returned from a November visit to Senegal. I am delighted to report that the renovated toilets at the first Senegalese school twinned with Old Hutton primary school were ready for pupils and staff to use when they returned to school for their new school year. It was a real pleasure to visit and see the work completed. The second twinning with Beetham primary school is strengthening and during our visit to Ataba Tabar primary school in Ziguinchor we discussed priorities and needs. Both staff and pupils at Beetham would like to help their twins. To put it in some perspective Beetham school has approximately 60 pupils and 600 Senegalese twins!
Meanwhile the third twinning with Arnside primary school is in the early stages and I am excited to have brought home a lovely present for Arnside from their Senegalese twins.
Until the next newsletter, best wishes and thank you very much for your support.
Earlier this year I went Casamance in Southern Senegal. I visited Ataba Tabar Primary School in Ziguinchor for the second time with Idrissa Sané my counterpart in Senegal. They are twinned with Beetham Primary School near Kendal who started their twinning in 2016.
We are discussing ways of supporting this school to repair the classroom roof. The schools have again have exchanged photos and newsletters.
I was delighted to visit the third twinning school Amitie Senegal Canada in Ziguinchor for the first time with Idrissa Sané He developed the initial link with the second and third twinning schools for Imagine Senegal. This third twinning is with Arnside Primary School near Kendal. Both schools have had previous experience of twinning which was started optimistically and unfortunately faded and stopped. We are determined to have a positive twinning experience for both schools. In fact I only visited Arnside Primary School 2 days before I flew to Senegal at the end of February!
Meanwhile the first twinning project between Old Hutton Primary School and Joachim Fode Ndiaye Primary School in Joal, Northern Senegal goes from strength to strength. Work has finally started on renovating the toilet block for pupils and staff. Idrissa will be visiting the project and his visit is going ahead for the end of May.
Third twinning goes ahead!
Imagine Senegal is excited to announce that Arnside Primary School in Cumbria started the third twinning project at the end of February. Claire Griffel and Idrissa Sané visited the Senegalese twins in March at Amitié Sénégal Canada Primary School.
I have some news about the fundraising work under the Imagine Senegal banner.
I visited the first twinning project in Joal, Northern Senegal. Joachim Fode N'Diaye Primary School is twinned with Old Hutton Primary School, near Kendal. This project began in September 2012 when I first met headteacher Lamine Sarr and we worked together and became good friends until his retirement. During my visit in 2017 new Headteacher Oumar Diong shared his serious concerns about the toilets which his pupils and teachers are unable to use. While I was there I was able to offer financial support for a caretaker to work at the School.The Parent Teacher Association will then takeover this funding with a request for minimum payments from parents each month.
Since my return, Idrissa Sané my counterpart has now delivered funds raised directly to start the masonry work for the toilets. The plumbing work will follow and then security for the classroom doors.
Idrissa has done a great job of negotiating since I left and says that Oumar is feeling very much encouraged by our response to his problems. Old Hutton Primary School children, parents and teachers have worked hard to raise funds for this work. There is a buzz of excitement when I visit!
With best wishes and thanks for your support, Claire
